A Nintendo Switch can easily be your best friend if you have to hop on one of those aeroplanes people use to travel long distances through the air, as we're no doubt so many of you reading already know first-hand. But what if you don't own one? How are you supposed to enjoy the benefits of playing DOOM at 33,000 feet on a 7W beast of a...

If you're a fan of the indie title Downwell and happen to own a copy of Super Mario Maker 2, you might want to take a look at the above video.
YouTube channel Boomstick Gaming has recreated the excellent vertical platforming roguelike rather accurately within Nintendo's Mario-themed course creator. Just like the real game, the...

Super Mario Maker 2 is an incredible piece of software that allows you to create all kinds of Mario-related stages and share them with your friends (and enemies).
The sheer scope of Nintendo's game makes it a must-have on Switch, and also makes the achievement of 14-year-old Claptrap9 all the more...

For all its flaws, there was one thing that Miiverse was undeniably quite competent at, and that's sharing and hosting Super Mario Maker levels. You could fire that puppy up, see a post with a load of buzz around it, or even just one that looks vaguely interesting, and download it straight to your now-dusty Wii U console. It was...

Black Friday doesn't happen until 23rd November this year, but isn't stopping the big U.S. retailers from getting in on the action early as usual. Target's Black Friday ad is now live and you'll be able to get a Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for only $299.
But that isn't what caught our eye, it was the presence of a mustard...

The day has finally dawned when Miiverse—Nintendo’s ill-fated attempt at a social network—is seeing its end. Miiverse was an integral part of the Wii U experience, and though the sluggish console OS discouraged heavy usage of it, the network still played a significant role in many games, like Splatoon and Super Mario Maker...

Super Mario Maker was one of our favourite Wii U games; Nintendo clearly invested great time, resources and thought into making it greater than its core concept. The user interface, the creativity of the tools that feed the player's imagination and the overall polish are a testament to the development...

Super Mario Maker is one of the Wii U's stand-out titles and offers players the chance to create classic Mario levels and share them with the wider world.
The title has drawn comparisons with Minecraft, a game which is constantly supported by content updates and new features. Sadly, Mario Maker...

The promotion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities is considered hugely important in education around the world. Technology firms often send employees out to local schools, and companies of various kinds organise events to promote STEM learning. In a press release...

The Media Create charts for Japan are out once again, and this week's line-up has a number of new releases - albeit not on Nintendo hardware.
It's hard to keep track of the Kingdom Hearts series, but that hasn't stopped the oddly named Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue from moving to number...

Super Mario Land is one of the quirkier Mario titles, developed for Game Boy by a team led by Gunpei Yokoi. The Mario 'style' was still taking shape at that time and the first portable entry went its own way, even including some shoot 'em up-style levels for good measure. It would have two equally diverse...

Super Mario Maker is delightfully quirky - if a structured Mario game is a piece of art, the level creation tool is a scruffy yet oddly exciting street play. It's silly and ridiculous, encouraging players around the world to create daft stages full of puzzles, sound effects and oddly stacked enemies.
Yet Nintendo can always...

Most long-haul aeroplane journeys are crushingly dull affairs, with ropey food, terrible in-flight entertainment and the added bonus of sitting in close proximity to a group of noisy and annoying people. Maybe that's just us!
However, for passengers on board Southwest Airlines flight #2482 the monotony of travelling in a giant...

The Media Create Chart results are with us once again, showing us what's hot and not in the Japanese market. There are a number of new game releases this week, with a few on 3DS, which has helped prompt some positive movement in hardware sales.
Starting with software, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has...

Super Mario Maker is now available on the 3DS of all things, and if our review is anything to go by it's more than worth your time if you're currently in a state of Wii U-lessness.
But can this shrunk-down version compete with its HD counterpart in the visual arena? Of course not, the whole idea that the two would be vaguely...

Super Mario Maker arrived on the 3DS last week and to celebrate the occasion - as well as encourage you to spend some cash, of course - the Official Nintendo UK Store has a range of special bundles which include the game itself as well as some bonus merchandise.
We've been lucky enough to have been sent some of...

Though it never had much of a chance of matching its predecessor in sales, the 3DS has nevertheless proven to be a valuable hardware hit for Nintendo. Its solid sales have not only defied many gloomy early expectations, but has ensured that it's been a strong platform for vital franchises, from sure-fire hits like the Pokémon main...

Perhaps due to the limited userbase and sales potential on the Wii U, Nintendo is bringing a couple of its notable home console releases of recent times to the 3DS, no doubt necessitating some technical wizardry in the process. The first of these is Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, which delivers a portable version of the...

When Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS was revealed recently in a Nintendo Direct, it wasn't necessarily surprising. Nintendo has seen some top notch titles achieve only modest sales on Wii U, and where possible is clearly looking to get stronger results through the larger userbase of the 3DS. This, along with Poochy...

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is a notable release for the portable this Holiday season, as Nintendo aims to target a sizeable audience that likely doesn't own a Wii U. It's lacking some features seen in the home console iteration, notably online level sharing, but does have a few of its own...

It feels like Nintendo's been a little quiet on Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, considering that the game is launching less than a month from now. Of course, we mostly know what to expect from the core experience, but there will still be some exclusive new features, such as the tough Medal Challenges. Interestingly enough, it...

Aside from a certain dual-release from The Pokémon Company, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is one of Nintendo's big hopes for Holiday sales on the 3DS. It takes much of what people love about the Wii U title and brings it to the portable, with online sharing and some Mystery Mushroom outfits making way for a couple of offline additions...

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS will be a notable release for the portable in the Holiday season, bringing some creativity and plenty of 2D Mario gaming with it, though the lack of online sharing may make some think twice. In any case, the Official Nintendo UK Store has opened...

One of the surprise announcements from the last 3DS Direct was that Super Mario Maker would be coming to 3DS. It makes sense given the device's renewed importance to the company, and the game could easily take advantage of 3DS features like Streetpass and Download Play. Unfortunately, it seems the game won't have...

Nintendo has confirmed that Super Mario Maker is making the jump from Wii U to 3DS.
This portable version is focused on creating local connections rather than sharing online, with StreetPass being used to exchange courses with close friends. It will include access to some Wii U courses to play, but not every level from the...

Have you had a chance to check out the Shaun the Sheep event course in Super Mario Maker yet? We think it's totally adorable. Following the release of this sheepish course, Nintendo UK has teamed up with Aardman Animations to create an exciting course design contest with a very cool prize.
The illustration of Shaun the Sheep playing...

Splatoon is heading towards a grand finale, of sorts, as Nintendo prepares for the last ever Splatfest which will be shared across regions and pit Callie and Marie against each other. In addition, of course, the singing duo have new amiibo that are due to arrive very soon, and with them

Detailed searches, levels bundled into 'Worlds' and 'Games', plus more

Super Mario Maker proved to be a success for Nintendo and Wii U in 2015, handing over the keys to 2D Mario gaming for players to create their own masterpieces. The in-game searches and the web-based Bookmark service have also made it easier to try new levels and discover new...

It's Saturday and so Nintendo Life Weekly comes around yet again to deliver your weekly does of Nintendo news, reviews, and releases, just as you'd expect.
This week Alex looks at the news of a new game coming to Wii U from Nordic Games, a Japanese poll designed to discover which Pokémon is truly the greatest, a parody...

Along with Splatoon, Super Mario Maker was a notable success story for the Wii U in 2015. Though neither title could ultimately transform the console's sales performance, both earned critical acclaim, pleased existing fans and reminded many of Nintendo's ongoing prowess in producing hit titles...

Aardman Animation's popular Shaun the Sheep character is coming to Super Mario Maker as a special costume.
The fluffy hero - who recently starred in one of Hideo Kojima's favourite movies of 2015 - comes with his own stage, entitled Shaun's Mossy Mole Mischief. Beating this course unlocks the costume itself.
The costume and course...

Another week has passed in the world of Nintendo, and so it's time for us to round up the week's events in a single, tidy package.
This week we look at the turbulent response to the latest trailer for the oft delayed Mighty No. 9, A pair of interesting new costumes for Super Mario Maker, and what is supposedly the...

Super Mario Maker has some fantastically designed, devious and clever levels to play. Some use their creations to make a point, however, and not always to simply show off their level design mastery.
Nintendo of America shared one rather cute example of a marriage proposal - luckily for Shanerator, Pam apparently said yes.
This...

Hello Kitty is one of those franchises that just feels like it's just always been there. It's tough to pin down what exactly made the character so famous, as Hello Kitty has appeared in countless forms of merchandise, as well as in some video games and TV Shows. Regardless of what gave it such pop culture recognition, few could dispute...

Super Mario Maker has become a mini-platform of its own, commanding a loyal audience of creators and players while adding frequent content updates. More extras are naturally on the way and a data miner has dug up some information, so this is your spoiler warning. Below is a random video of dancing sprites; if you scroll...

Super Mario Maker has been a fascinating ongoing project from Nintendo. Ever since launch, new costumes or course building tools have gradually been made available to the public through updates that are pushed out fairly intermittently. All told, there's still lots that Nintendo could feasibly add to this game, and it'll be...

The toolset of Super Mario Maker allows for many unconventional levels that, while possible technically within a regular Mario game, Nintendo has never dared to create. After the company has taken some heat for releasing four New Super Mario Bros. games that are decent, though unsurprising, platformers, it's a refreshing breath of...

It's been a couple weeks since Nintendo added another costume to Super Mario Maker. After the rather bizarre addition of BABYMETAL members, it's nice to see Nintendo is working on getting more of its own characters in the game, as it's just been announced that Nana and Popo will be making an appearance as a mystery costume.
Though the Ice...

Super Mario Maker has had some quirky tie-ins for its Event Courses and unlockable costumes, but the latest perhaps takes the biscuit. Nintendo's Japanese social media channels have confirmed that BABYMETAL will be the next tie-in.
What's BABYMETAL? It's a Japanese rock band that consists of three young performers. Below are Nintendo's...

Super Mario Maker has a lot of Mystery Mushroom costumes, many of which have come through a combination of amiibo scans and Event Courses (in some cases both). With new additions we have an excuse to boot up the game and enjoy its delights again, and Nintendo has been so keen on the idea that it's included some rather quirky characters...

We love a challenging Super Mario Maker level here at Nintendo Life, but sometimes we come across a creation which is so punishing that it requires super-human levels of skill to complete.
Behold The ER: Surgical Shells 2.0 by evil genius Docta_el, a course which has - at the time of writing - been completed zero times...

Though being the creator in Super Mario Maker is undoubtedly rewarding, sometimes it's a lot of fun to just relax and enjoy the fruits of others' labours. As such we keep an eye on the game's subreddit, and sometimes creators share their 'full game' creations.
Another has popped up as the finished article recently, called...

Super Mario Maker has a loyal and sizeable audience that continues to stretch the creation tool to its full potential. With each update that adds doors, keys and other bits and bobs we also see increasingly clever stages, some which test our minds as well as our thumbs.
In any case, while some create ambitious individual...

For a number of the most dedicated Super Mario Maker creators there's been a sore point - Nintendo removes levels with little explanation or warning. Communication has been an issue, as gamers have used social media to piece together limited details from terms of use and calls / emails with Nintendo's customer...

Keiji Inafune is one of the best known game creators in the industry, and a designer that commands a great deal of respect. As a result it's intriguing to see him create a stage in Super Mario Maker while citing some principles first formed in the early Mega Man games.
That's the idea behind a Polygon video...

Here at Nintendo Life we rather enjoy videos of extremely complex and difficult Super Mario Maker stages - it's easier to admire the play of others than to attempt them ourselves, after all. The precision and skill in both the stage designs and the players that clear them can be extraordinary.
Often we...

The Legendary Starfy was a mostly Japan-only platforming series that starred (sorry) the eponymous aquatic character and propelled him to relative fame. Drawing many comparisons to the Kirby series, Starfy games rose to popularity by smartly designed stages that mixed aquatic themed platforming stages with some light puzzle...

Many of us like to talk a big game with Super Mario Maker creations, how we're planning to wow the world and change the way we play platformers in the Mario universe. In most cases, of course, a level creation is often abandoned early to do something a little less taxing; it's harder than it seems to make a good level.
Some...

When it comes to engaging an enthusiastic community and holding the attention of online streamers and speedrunners, Super Mario Maker has all of the key ingredients. As a creation tool it allows fans to create and tackle extraordinary levels and to share them with followers on various platforms - it's...